S. F. Kislev’s essay for the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, online in advance of the print edition.
S. F. Kislev – ‘A Self-Forming Vessel: Aristotle, Plasticity, and the Developing Nature of the Intellect’: JBSP (Originally published online: 8 April 2020).
Abstract: Highlighting the relations between De Anima II.5 and De Anima III.4, this paper argues that Aristotle held a surprisingly dynamic view of the intellect. According to this view, the intellect is in a constant development brought about by its own activity. This dynamic view distinguishes the intellect from both physical objects and from sense-perception. For Aristotle the intellect is a “nothing” that gradually becomes something by thinking. The paper traces the logic of this idea and its meaning. It defends the simple thesis that in the intellect alone first and second transitions are bound together: that every concrete thought is also a determination of the possibility of the intellect. This, I will suggest, was known to ancient commentators who distinguished between not two but three “intellects” in De Anima; not only the possible and actual intellects, but also the acquired intellect. It is the unique conceptual structure of the acquired intellect that this paper sketches.
Full article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00071773.2020.1741120
S. F. Kislev, Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv Yaffo, Israel
Accessing the JBSP Online: The online version of the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology publishes articles in advance of the print edition. Articles can be accessed via our publisher’s website: JBSP at Taylor & Francis Online. Access to the JBSP is free to all members of the society, who also receive the quarterly print copy of the journal as part of their subscription. You can find out more about becoming a member and supporting the BSP on the membership webpage. If you are not a member of the BSP, you can purchase articles from the site, or log in using institutional or personal access via Shibboleth and OpenAthens.
JBSP print edition: COVID-19 update – production of the print edition of the JBSP was temporally ceased on 10 April 2020 due to the pandemic. Check out when you will get your copies and further updates on our JBSP COVID-19 update page.